WCE Trading Volume Trending Up

WINNIPEG - Mar 1/06 - SNS -- The Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE) has managed nine consecutive year over year increases in trading volume.

February's volume was 12.1% higher than a year ago. A total of 259,037 contracts were traded during February 2006. This level of activity is 19.2% higher than last month.

Trade in canola futures totaled 240,070 contracts, representing an increase of 15.9% from a year ago and 23% from a month ago. Feed wheat futures volume was 8,126 contracts which is a rise of 73% from the level recorded in January 2006, but slightly lower than that of a year ago. There were 9,238 western barley futures contracts traded during February 2006.

During February there were 1,603 canola options contracts traded.

Crop year-to-date futures contract volume is up 19.7% from the same period a year ago at 1,417,875 contracts. Crop year-to-date options contract volume is 86.5% higher than last year at 21,100 contracts. Total volume for the crop year-to-date is 1,438,975 contracts which is 20.3% higher than a year ago.

At the end of February 2006 open interest in futures contracts stood at 104,260 contracts, marking a 20.8% increase from the end of February 2005. Open interest in options contracts was 10,544, up 251.2% from a year ago. Total open interest was 114,804 contracts at the end of the month which is 28.6% over that of last year.

The highest level of open interest in a May canola futures contract was reached on February 27, 2006 when open interest in the May 2006 canola futures contract was 54,854 contracts.